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Monday, October 18, 2010

Day Twenty-Five

I needed more iron.

I was getting desperate. I was using stone picks again. I still had twenty-something ingots, but the number was going down more than it was going up. So on the night of the twenty-forth day, when my mining hit a vast cavern network, I did not turn around; instead, I stepped down into the darkness.

Into the darkness.

My heart was pounding pretty hard.

I was frightened, jumping at the slightest non-sound. At the same time, I was excited. What if I found diamond? I doubt I would get that low, but what if? Unfortunately, not twenty blocks into the cavern, I placed my last torch. I had no wood left to make more. Sheepishly, I returned to camp. Not long after, the sky began to light up over the ocean.

.

I could not hear any mobs nearby, just the grunts of a cow. As I still needed to make my sign, and some new tools, I left early to go chop down a tree.

Sun still rising.

Seems the torches worked again.

OK. Perhaps it is still a bit too early.

Meh. He'll be dead soon. No need to worry.

That was perhaps a bit too close.

Back in my camp, I blocked off the entrance while I crafted. I would not be long, but if I left it open then I knew a creeper would sneak in.

Being safe.

Done.

At the end of Day Twenty-Four, I asked if I should stick to the boat or head inland. People voted unanimously for the boat, so I headed back to where I had docked it the previous night and headed on my way.

Hello there, trusty boat.

On we go, then.

Oh... :(

Well that was short lived. I could see more water ahead, but too far to warrant digging another channel. The boat I had been riding seen the previous afternoon would have to stay here.

Looking south at crazy mountains.

Heading east to more ocean.

I did not wish to make another boat straight away, in case the land blocked it again just ahead. Instead, I climbed onto higher ground to check the horizon first. I also needed to collect more wood if I was to craft another boat.

Ocean look a go.

On we go.

The southern land was slowly creeping east and pushed my tiny vessel increasingly north. Yet, i felt certain that this was a mere cape, and I would soon be sailing back to the south and east again before too long.

More forests and mountains to the south. Looks like I am not missing too much.

Island to the north.

Being forced north-east.

OK, now I am just heading north.

Still heading north, but looks like I finally found the point.

Rounding the cape and looking east.

Looking south from what is perhaps the northern-most point I have been in this journey.

Heading back south-east to get on track.

Aaah, pooh.

After such a diversion north, I was now being blocked by a slither of land. I went ashore with the intention of carving a channel for my boat.

Sigh.

But then I had an idea. The TNT sitting in my inventory all these days. Why not use it for something practical? It seems smart enough, and safe enough, and justified.

What could possible go wrong?

XD

:(

An explosives expert, I am not. I did not consider that the TNT may form a hole more than a block deep. In hindsight, that was a pretty big thing to overlook. I didn't like my chances, but I thought I may as well try to get my boat through anyhow. I had seen other people ride boats up waterfalls. Perhaps I could do that?

There is no way this is going to work...

Yeah...

Defeated, I stomped off to the next ocean and crafted my third boat for the day.

*grumble grumble mutter mutter*

Back to the water.

Moving on.

Things went smoother this time. I was able to continue directly east for some time without interference. I was still probably somewhat further north than my previous camp, but I could correct for that later. Besides, does it particularly matter? The eastern horizon is still directly ahead.

Awesome mountain back west on the island I boated around.

A beach of gravel.

Looking north. All the way north.

Eventually, I was blocked by a sandbank. I tried traveling around it, but was merely halted at another.

.

Blocked.

Going around north...

A mountain appearing off to the south-east.

Blocked again.

There was no point digging through. The water dead-ended just ahead anyhow. The sun was getting fairly low as I headed into the woods to find shelter for the night.

Huge mountain to the south.

Oh my. (looking south)

So I guess I am not heading that way. Instead I turned further east, only to find myself looking down into another canyon.

Looking south-east.

I decided to scale the wall around to the southern-tip where I would make camp. If I got there before sunset, that is.

Carefully heading south.

And east.

I started to dig out my camp beside the water. Not two blocks in, I decided I had chosen a good spot.

Here will do just fine, me thinks.

Perhaps a dash irregular.

Looking north over the water.

So that was an interesting day, and a good change of pace. I felt rested, not having walked and jumped all day. I wondered if tomorrow would bring more ocean adventures or a return to the land. I guess I will know when I climb out of the canyon in the morning.

Hello! Welcome to Towards Dawn, a Minecraft tale not about mining, but about walking. Check out the About page for a more detailed description, or start reading from the very beginning.This is a side project of mine. I also write about games at Critical Damage.Mega thanks to Emma Arnold for crafting me up a little banner to brighten the place up. She has a blog and I owe her a plug, so you should go check it out!

About Me

Is a Media and Communications PhD student at RMIT University. Holds a BA in Writing and Japanese with Honors in Communication and Cultural Studies. Is a freelance videogame critic and journalist for the likes of Edge, Polygon, Hyper, Unwinnable, Gamasutra, Pixel Hunt, Ars Technica, and PC Powerplay.
Can be contacted at brendankeogh86 at gmail dot com or on Twitter at BRKeogh.

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Hopefully you enjoy reading my adventure as much as I am enjoying having it and writing about it. If you so wish, please feel free to express this enjoyment in some kind of fiscal way below. But also feel free not to! The wishes of good luck and shouts of motivation in the comments of each post are more than rewarding enough :).